South Dakota Indian tribes ban Republican Gov. Kristi Noem from setting foot on their land in protest of the administration considering plans to send resources to Texas to strengthen border security did.
Frank Starr, president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, criticized Noem for publicly considering sending razor wire and personnel to the border and wondered if she was running for vice president. suggested.
“For the safety of the Oyate Nation, effective immediately, you are expelled from the Oglala Sioux homeland!” Star declared last Fridayuses the word “Oyate” which means nation.
Starr said the Oglala Sioux Nation is “a sovereign nation, not a Democratic or Republican tribe,” and that many of the migrants flooding across the southern border are Native Americans seeking “jobs and a better life.” he emphasized.
“[They] No one deserves to be dehumanized and abused by people like the governor. [Abbott] and his comrades,” he said.
Noem addressed state lawmakers last Wednesday, saying the United States was facing an “invasion” and warning that Mexican drug cartels were “waging war against our country.”
The 52-year-old Republican ignored Starr’s ouster and her warnings.
“It’s unfortunate that President (Starr) came out and chose to bring politics into the discussion about the impact of the federal government’s failure to enforce federal laws on the southern border and on tribal lands.” she said in a statement.
“In my speech to Congress earlier this week, I told the truth about the devastation drug and human trafficking inflicts on our country and its people,” she added.
“Our tribal reservations are facing some of the worst conditions in South Dakota. I don’t blame the tribes in saying this. They are the victims here.”
“I am ready to work with any Native American tribe in the state to build these relationships.”
In her speech to a joint session of the state Legislature last Wednesday, Noem spoke briefly about the drug situation plaguing tribal communities in the Mount Rushmore state.
She also announced her intention to support the Oglala Sioux Tribe in its lawsuit seeking more federal law enforcement assistance.
Star last year declared a state of emergency About the crime plaguing the Pine Ridge Reservation. The federal government has a duty to provide law enforcement assistance. A federal judge decided last year..
A chorus of Republican governors has backed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in his standoff with the Biden administration.
Noem, like other Republican governors, including unsuccessful Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, has deployed the National Guard to the Mexican border three times.
Noem’s name has been floated as a running mate for Republican front-runner former President Donald Trump.
She endorsed him last year and campaigned for him in Iowa last month.
with post wire
